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Emotion processing in schizophrenia and its relation to μ-opioid receptor availability.
No full textBACKGROUND: Emotion processing deficits are core features of schizophrenia, and there is interest in understanding their neurochemical basis. Preclinical evidence implicates opioid neurotransmission in emotional regulation, however the role of the μ-opioid receptor (MOR) in human emotion processing in schizophrenia remains unclear. Here, we examined the association between central MOR availability and emotion processing in patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: Nineteen patients with schizophrenia and 19 age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent functional MRI (fMRI) while performing two emotion-processing tasks: viewing emotional pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) and a facial emotion recognition task (happy, sad, neutral faces). All participants also underwent a [11C]-carfentanil positron emission tomography (PET) scan to measure MOR availability (binding potential, BPND). Group differences in brain activation and MOR binding were analysed, and associations between MOR availability and fMRI activation in regions of interest (ROIs) were assessed. RESULTS: Patients with schizophrenia had mild-moderate negative symptoms (PANNS-negative 21.4 ± 1.0, SANS total 55.7 ± 5.0). Both the IAPS (pleasant + unpleasant > neutral) and facial-emotion (happy + sad > baseline) contrasts engaged the canonical cortico-limbic "hedonic" network (amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), insula, orbitofrontal cortex and striatum) in each group. Multivariate ROI analyses showed no significant case-control difference for either task (IAPS: Pillai = 0.276, p = 0.055; Faces: Pillai = 0.277, p = 0.069), and no individual ROI survived false-discovery correction (all pFDR > 0.05). Mixed-effects models indicated that [11C]-carfentanil BPND did not predict emotion-evoked BOLD signal across ROIs in either group for the IAPS task (controls β = -4.6 ± 3.0, p = 0.13; patients β = -1.0 ± 3.4, p = 0.76; group × PET interaction p = 0.20) or the facial-emotion task (controls β = 5.1 ± 4.3, p = 0.24; patients β = 0.7 ± 4.8, p = 0.89; group × PET interaction p = 0.28. Exploratory correlations identified a negative association between MOR and BOLD response related to viewing emotional faces in the ACC in controls only (sad + happy > baseline, r = -0.60, pFDR = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: We found no evidence of impaired emotion-related brain activation in the hedonic network in schizophrenia patients with moderate negative symptoms compared to healthy individuals, and baseline MOR availability did not predict the neural response to emotional stimuli in this network
Plant Traits as Potential Drivers of Timber Value in the Dipterocarpaceae.
No full textSoutheast Asian tropical forests are vital sources of high-value timber and non-timber forest products (NTFPs). This study investigates the relationship between plant traits, wood density, and timber market value within the Dipterocarpaceae family, a critical contributor to the global tropical timber trade and a key structural component of many forests in Southeast Asia. Using a phylogenetic approach, we explored the correlation of morphological and life-history traits with timber price. Our results show that wood density is significantly associated with higher timber prices, and this relationship is strongly influenced by phylogenetic dependence. We found no evidence linking timber value to the conservation status of dipterocarp species, suggesting that economic exploitation does not necessarily correlate with species endangerment. These findings emphasize the importance of understanding the evolutionary patterns driving economically valuable traits in timber species, which can guide sustainable forest management and conservation strategies in Southeast Asia
The XXL survey: LV. Galaxy cluster classification from the XXL X-ray source catalogue using a Gaussian process binary classifier trained on imperfectly labelled data
No full textABSTRACT We present a Gaussian process binary classifier designed to incorporate label uncertainty in its training data, with the aim of selecting galaxy cluster candidates based on their observed X-ray properties. The classifier was trained using sources from the North and South fields of the XXL survey, with label uncertainty derived from the existing XXL galaxy cluster selection criteria. To prevent the classifier from simply replicating the existing XXL selection, we excluded the two X-ray properties originally used by XXL to identify clusters. Applying the classifier to the XXL North catalogue yielded a new sample of 623 candidate sources, recovering 225 of the 248 clusters previously identified by the standard XXL method. We validated the classifier using two independent optically selected cluster samples. Visual inspection of 530 candidates confirmed 271 cluster candidates, including 95 not previously selected by the XXL process. Accounting for 93 uninspected sources, the purity of the sample was estimated at 0.47 0.02. The newly identified candidates often showed different X-ray morphologies compared to those previously selected by XXL, typically lacking a dominant X-ray component following a -model surface brightness profile. While classifier results were robust to being trained on the North or South XXL catalogues, subtle and unresolved differences in behaviour were identified, possibly due to differences in the properties of the two fields (e.g. Galactic column and foreground differences, or time-varying instrument calibration or background characteristics). Overall, we find that the classifier is complementary to the standard XXL processing
Coupled-channel scattering of , *, and ** in isospin-1 from lattice QCD
No full textThe first coupled-channel determination of two-body and * scattering amplitudes in isospin-1 from lattice quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is presented. Using three lattice volumes at ≈391 MeV, finite-volume energies relevant for the channels of interest are determined. Through the Lüscher formalism, these energies are used to constrain amplitudes of coupled =0+ −**, =1+ *−**, and =2+ −* −** scattering. All channels feature weakly repulsive interactions in the -wave, except for a weak ** attraction in =0+. No amplitude singularities corresponding to physical states are found. Some of these amplitudes will be a necessary component of future lattice QCD analyses of and * scattering, taking into account three-body and left-hand cut effects
Beneath the City: Micromorphological Insights into Etruscan Urban Life, Infrastructure, and Ritual Spaces from Tarquinia, Central Italy
No full textDuring the late Bronze and Early Iron Age, population nucleation in central Italy gave rise to nucleated settlements that went on to become some of western Europe’s earliest and most powerful cities. Between 1000 and 500 BCE, these centres transformed from village agglomerations into organised urban settlements as part of a regional political system. While the key archaeological features and architectural transformations that characterise this period are well established, site formation processes and the intra-settlement spaces and activities underpinning them are less defined, especially for the earliest phases. To gain new insights on the transformation into urban settlements in a Mediterranean context, this research systematically investigates – for the first time – the micromorphology of archaeological sediments of an urban settlement of the first half of the first millennium BCE. Here we present a micro-contextual analysis from Tarquinia (central Italy), one of the most important sites for understanding central Mediterranean urbanisation and community formation, a prominent pre-Roman city and centre of the Etruscan religion and political activity. On-going excavations have unravelled an extensive part of the city and yielded important evidence of ritual activity around the so-called 'monumental complex' (1st millennium BCE). Targeting four areas with high preservation of deposits of the city’s early formative processes, this work integrates archaeological soil micromorphology, physico-chemical and geochemical analyses to reconstruct the depositional and post-depositional processes of the archaeological layers across the ‘monumental complex’ of Tarquinia. This study sheds new light on fills of earthen pits, linking them to the dumping of occupational and production debris and accumulation of animal penning residues. It also adds detailed insights into the composition of traffic surfaces and highlights the integration of ritual spaces within urban formation processes. Results demonstrate the variability of sedimentary microfacies that can occur in protohistoric sites of Central Italy and adds significant micro-contextual evidence to the understanding of urban, ritual, and socio-economic across Etruscan settlements, ultimately highlighting the critical role of archaeological sediments in tracing shifting phases of use at the emergence of early urbanisation in the Mediterranean region
Memories and continuities of violence: the role of universities in Latin America
No full textIn recent decades, Latin America has encountered significant challenges in strengthening democracy, commemorating past violence, and building peace. Universities have not been exempted from these pressures. Historical and current manifestations of violence – from dictatorships and armed conflicts to resurgent authoritarian and denialist movements – have resulted in censorship and suppression of teaching and research. This paper examines the institutional achievements and limitations of universities in Colombia, El Salvador, Peru, and Uruguay; while addressing the challenges they face in teaching, research, and community engagement. Drawing upon the authors' extensive teaching experience, it presents four case studies that explore how these institutions respond to the legacies of violence. The analysis highlights theoretical gaps in understanding the role of universities in peacebuilding. Overall, the study underscores that universities are pivotal, yet underexplored, spaces for advancing democracy, fostering inclusive education, and generating contextually grounded knowledge to counter denialism and authoritarianism, and inspiring social progress
Controls on the southwest USA hydroclimate over the last six glacial-interglacial cycles.
No full textThe Great Basin in the southwest United States experienced major hydroclimate shifts throughout the Quaternary. Understanding the drivers behind these past changes has become increasingly important for improving future climate projections. Here, we present an absolute-dated δ18O and δ13C record from Devils Hole cave 2 (southern Nevada) that reveals climate and environmental changes in the southern Great Basin over the last 580,000 years. Water isotope-enabled Earth system simulations and phasing analysis show that temperature-related mechanisms are a primary driver of δ18O variability, with additional drivers stemming from processes linked to North American ice sheets. Vegetation density in the highlands of southern Nevada is primarily forced by Northern Hemisphere summer intensity. A rapid decline in primary productivity occurs during warm interglacial periods when local groundwater recharge declines to <50% above modern. Our study sheds new light on the relationship between temperature, moisture balance, and vegetation over the last six glacial-interglacial cycles
Transparent PEDOT:PSS/PDMS Leaf Tattoos for Multiplexed Plant Health Monitoring and Energy Harvesting.
No full textThe development of non-invasive sensors for individualised plant monitoring has become essential in smart farming to increase crop production. However current approaches are focused on the measurement of soil parameters instead, which cannot provide direct information about plant health. Moreover, equipment used for the direct monitoring of plant health are costly with complex operation, hindering their use by the wider community of farmers. This work reports for the first time the development of a flexible and highly transparent sensor, based on thin conductive PEDOT:PSS/PDMS hybrid films directly deposited onto leaves. The films were fabricated by aerosol deposition and could operate under two different modes. The first mode is used for the determination of plant dryness and concentration of ions. The second mode is used as a triboelectric generator to generate up to 7.2 µW cm-2 electrical power through the friction of the sensors with a leaf. The device was assembled using a low-cost (GBP < 70) microcontroller incorporating environmental sensors, and an intuitive interface was designed for operation. The final sensor could determine the ionic strength at the millimolar level by means of the impedance of electrodes. This performance allowed the study of differences in ionic content and water availability in tomato leaves during day-night cycles. The high stability of the sensors also allowed the long-term monitoring of plant health. Using this technology, a decrease in the leaf ionic strength due to the lack of electrolytes was observed after watering with deionised water for 2 days. Upon supplementation with fertiliser, the recorded ionic strength and leaf water content were similar to the original values prior to the use of DI water, demonstrating the applicability of the device in the early detection of stress factors that could decrease crop production
dGAMLSS: an exact, distributed algorithm to fit Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale, and Shape for privacy-preserving population reference charts.
No full textMOTIVATION: There is growing interest in estimating population reference ranges across age and sex to better identify atypical clinically-relevant measurements throughout the lifespan. For this task, the World Health Organization recommends using Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale, and Shape (GAMLSS), which can model non-linear growth trajectories under complex distributions that address the heterogeneity in human populations.Fitting GAMLSS models requires large, generalizable sample sizes, especially for accurate estimation of extreme quantiles, but obtaining such multi-site data can be challenging due to privacy concerns and practical considerations. In settings where patient data cannot be shared, privacy-preserving distributed algorithms for federated learning can be used, but no such algorithm exists for GAMLSS. RESULTS: We propose distributed GAMLSS (dGAMLSS), a distributed algorithm that can fit GAMLSS models across multiple sites without sharing patient-level data. This includes specific considerations for the fitting of smooth functions at varying levels of communication efficiency. We demonstrate the effectiveness of dGAMLSS in constructing population reference charts across clinical, genomics, and neuroimaging settings and show that dGAMLSS is able to reproduce pooled reference charts and inference down to numerical differences. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: An R package providing examples of the dGAMLSS algorithm, as well as functions for sharing and aggregating site-specific parameters, is available at https://github.com/hufengling/dGAMLSS
Troubles in wonderland: Reconsidering the differences between psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy in the age of AI
No full textAs artificial intelligence (AI) becomes integrated into mental health care, foundational questions about psychotherapy gain renewed urgency. What makes treatment “real”? Which therapeutic elements are essential for genuine change? This article addresses these questions through a conceptual examination of two leading treatments for depression: psychodynamic therapy (PDT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). While comparative studies of these treatments often report equivalent outcomes, echoing the “Dodo bird verdict” that “everybody has won, and all must have prizes”, this article traces their core differences. The goal is not to promote dogmatic allegiance to “pure” forms of therapy, but to identify distinctive ingredients for each tradition, explore conceptual and methodological “troubles” that obscure them, and discuss their potential adaptation to AI. A side-by-side analysis of canonical texts highlights three features distinctive to PDT: (1) attention to past experiences; (2) open-ended exploration of fantasy life; and (3) focus on the therapeutic relationship itself, through transference, countertransference, and immediate psychic truth. These features are difficult to capture in short-term psychodynamic treatments, which dominate comparative research. They are also particularly challenging for digital and AI adaptation. Practical directions for research are outlined (e.g., studying contrasting strategies such as distraction, alongside clinical outcomes beyond symptom relief, such as mentalization). The article concludes with an examination of the possibilities and limitations of AI-based psychotherapy. While many CBT components appear amenable to automation, the human connection emphasized in PDT (and by many CBT practitioners) remains difficult to replicate. The article explores whether AI could, nevertheless, support such relational depth